Founder Feature: Ranwei Chiang of Abstinence Spirits
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 7 March 2025
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, Grace Kennedy sits down with Ranwei Chiang, the CEO and owner of Abstinence Spirits, a brand redefining non-alcoholic beverages with bold flavors and sophisticated botanical blends. Ranwei shares the inspiring journey behind Abstinence Spirits, from its roots in South Africa’s Cape Floral Kingdom to its expansion in the U.S. market.
They discuss the rising trend of non-alcoholic options, how Abstinence Spirits differentiates itself with depth and complexity, and the challenges and successes of building a brand in an emerging category. Ranwei also dives into the company's approach to retail, e-commerce, grassroots marketing, and the importance of building strong industry relationships. Plus, she shares insights on entrepreneurship, financial strategy, and maintaining work-life balance while growing a business.
Tune in to learn how Abstinence Spirits is making waves in the beverage industry!
Listen in as they share about:
- Origin & Founding Story Abstinence Spirits
- Product Line and Innovation
- Growth and Consumer Trends
- Marketing and Sales Strategy
- Retail and Distribution Approach
- Engagement with Bartenders and Mixologists
- Advice for Entrepreneurs
Episode Links:
Website: https://drinkabstinence.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranwei-chiang-6b38014/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | All right, we've got a cool new opportunity for brands that are right for the fitness crowd. |
| 0:37.8 | You know how it really costs a lot of money to get people to sample your product? Like doing demos in the store, you have to pay the agency, get them the product. Same for field marketing. Well, great news. We've got a new partner, the Lyft Box. It's America's Top Fitness subscription box, which goes out to 15,000 subscribers per month. You can get in the box. there's no cost to participate, and they actually help you out with some money to cover your cogs because they end up selling the boxes for their subscribers, which means the audience really values the products inside. On top of the money and exposure, you get to take advantage of their product photoshoots, post-sampling surveys, influencer seating, and media opportunities. Check them out. Find out why brands like Lenny and Larry's Ghost and Lonnie New use them. |
| 0:42.0 | If your product would be a fit, visit their website for more information. |
| 0:45.2 | It's the liftbox.com slash partners. That's t-h-e-l-f-t-B-X.com slash partners. |
| 0:52.6 | It's in the show notes. |
| 1:20.2 | So on premise, it's been so much fun because I think just like the consumer, bartenders are looking for fun, innovative products to use for their cocktails. |
| 1:29.8 | And so because we have the whole range of products, it's really nice to get bartenders excited about using abstinence because they kind of see the relation to the spirit, right? |
| 1:32.7 | So to the spice rum, for example. |
| 1:35.7 | But then there's like our own botanical spin on it, so it makes it really a little bit more |
| 1:40.2 | unique and fun to play around with and then the quality is there. And so I think it's been |
| 1:46.3 | really fun to present and get it in front of mixologists. Hello everyone and welcome back to the |
| 1:55.3 | Startup CPG podcast. This is Grace and today I am talking to Renway Chang, the CEO and owner of Abstonin' Spirits, |
| 2:04.2 | a line of botanical-inspired non-alcoholic spirits. My personal favorite, as you'll hear, |
| 2:10.3 | is their lemon apparatus, which actually won a Shelby Award in 2024 in the non-alcoholic category. |
| 2:17.4 | Renwin and I talk all about the fast-growing N.A. category and how Absent Spirits is planning |
| 2:22.8 | to lead the pack when it comes to complex and flavorful spirits in this space. |
| 2:29.2 | I hope you enjoy this episode, and as always, let me know what you think. |
| 2:41.9 | Hello, everyone. this episode and as always let me know what you think hello everyone this is grace and i am joined today by renway the CEO of abstinence spirits welcome to the show renway thank you excited to be here |
| 2:49.0 | yes i'm so excited to have you. I'm personally a fan of Absent |
| 2:54.1 | Spirits. I think my favorite is the like lemon aperitif with a little sparkle. So good, just over |
| 3:00.7 | ice on its own. I like had it on a Zoom call once that was at like 5 o'clock and I was like, |
| 3:06.2 | oh, isn't it so refreshing so refreshing and |
... |
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